Karl baumann



K. BAUMANN.

CONDENSiNG STEAM TURBINE PLANT.

APPucATldn FILED sum-22. um.

1,304, 14%. L Patented May 20, 1919..

.9 Q I w WITNESSES lNv E N l'oR UNITED STATES FATENT @FFIGE.

KARL BAUMANN, OF URMSTON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO THE BRITISH WESTINGHOUSEELECTRIC AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY LIMITED, A CORPORATION OF GREATBRITAIN.

CONDENSING sTEAfM-TURBlNE PLANT.

Patented Ma 20, 1919.

Original application filed March 25, 1918, Serial No. 86,777. Dividedand this application filed September To all whom it may concern 'Be itknown that I, KARL BAUMANN, a citizen of the Confederation ofSwitzerland, and a resident of Urmston, in thecounty of Lancaster,England, have made a new and useful Improvement in Condensing Steam-Turbine Plants, of which the following is a specification.

This is a division of my application filed March 25, 1916, Serial No.86,777 and like said application relates to plants for producing power,comprising a steam generator, aanain steam turbine, a condenser, a

feed water heater and their usual and appropriateauxiharies, and with orwithout an economizer' for conserving the heat of flue gases, and hasfor its object to provide an improved arrangement and construction ofpower plant of this kind whereby the overall efficiency is increased ascompared with existing plants.-

This object I attain, according to this invention, by utilizing thesteam given off from the water sealed glands of the main turbine and thesteam which leaks past the balance pistons thereof, for heating the feedwater instead of as has heretofore been the practice, of exhausting saidsteam directly into the condenser or to an intermediate point in the lowpressure end of the turbine. Such steam as is here utilized is at acomparatively low pressure and the feed water heater or heaters in whichit is utilized operate at a pressure below atmospheric.

In this case, in. which the turbine is provided with balance pistons andwater sealed glands in which the mechanical work expended on the sealingwater by the paddle wheel of the gland vaporizes a certain amount ofwater which appears as steam which enters the lantern space of thegland, it is advisable to use two heaters, preferably arranged tooperate in series.

In operating arrangements of the above kind, it sometimes happens thatthe extrac tion pump 'of the main condenser discharges its waterintermittently, with the result that the leakage steam from the balancepistons or the steam from the water sealed glands, is not fullycondensed in the feed water heater or heaters into which it is led. Toobviate this, a by-pass is provided for leading away to the maincondenser 01' turbine Seria1 No. 192,801.

exhaust or any other suitable stage of the niain turbine, any leakagesteam from the balance pistons or steam from the water sealed glandswhich may accumulate due to non-condensation in the heater or heaters.Said by-passis provided with a back pressure valve or is otherwise soarranged as to prevent steam passing to. the condenser, the turbineexhaust or an operative stage of the main turbine, except when thepressure of said steam rises above a determined pressure.

If desired, said by-pass may take the form of a siphon tube containingwater, forming a seal, which in the event of the pressure of the steamrising above a determined pressure, will be blown out, permitting thesteam to pass to an intermediate stage of the turbine or to thecondenser or turbine exhaust.

Suitable valves will be preferably provided in the siphon tube to enablethe same to be refilled with water during operation of the plant.

The accompanying sheet of drawingdiagrammatically shows an arrangementfor carrying out the present invention.

In this view a main turbine 2 of the reactiontype is provided withbalance pistons 3 and l for the intermediate and low pressure sectionsrespectively, and water sealed glands provided with rotatable runners 5and lantern space 6 prevent leakage of steam from the turbine casementaround the turbine shaft.

The turbine is connected to a condenser 7 in the usual manner, and thecondensate is drawn off through pipe 8 by extraction pump 9 and forcedthrough feed water heaters 10 and 11 arranged to operate in series. Thefeed water is led away from feed water heater 11 by pipe 12 to aneconomizer or to a hot well from which itis delivered to the steamgenerator of the system.

The feed water in heater 10 is heated by steam from the water sealedgland at the left of the turbine and by steam leaking past balancepiston at, such steam being led to heater 10 through pipe 13.

Heater 11 which is connected in series with heater 10 is suppliedthrough pipe lat with steam leaking past balance piston 3.

The heater 11 is connected by pipe 15 with a point in the turbine, atwhich the pressure is approximately equal to that existing in front ofbalance piston 4. A non-return valve 16 is located in pipe 15 to preventsteam from the operative part of the turbine flowing through the pipe 15to the 5 heater 11. A back pressure valve may also, if desired, beprovided in the pipe 15, though this will in many cases be foundunnecessary. In this arrangement it will also be necessary to slightlyraise the pressure behind balance piston 4, that is, to the left of thepiston, and, if desired, make said piston slightly larger for thepurpose of avoiding unbalanced end thrust, occasioned by the fact thatit is desirable to increase the pressure of the steam delivered to theheater so that its temperature will beslightly above that to which it isdesired to heat the water.

Pipe 17 containing a back pressure valve 18 connects the heater 10 tothe condenser 7. The function of said back pressure valve, ashereinbefore explained, is to prevent steam passing from the heater tothe condenser, or turbine exhaust except when the pressure of steam inthe heater rises above a determined pressure, by reason of insufficientcondensation therein.

A draigi ipe 19 of small dimensions leads from theoutlet of heater 11 tothe condenser and throughthis, water and non-condens able gasesaccumulating in the heater may escape to the condenser. The inventionherein set forth is not restricted to condensing steam turbine plantsincluding an economizer or economizers utilizing the heat of the fluegases, as it may equally well be applied to plants not pro- ,vided withan economizer, such for example, as condensing steam turbine plantsinstalled on marine vessels. The two feed water heaters or theirequivalents, neednot necessarily be operated in series, but seriesoperation is preferred to parallel operation.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:

1. In combination with a steam turbine, two feed water heating meansoperating in series and below atmospheric pressure, means for deliveringleakage steam from the turbine to each of said heating means and meansfor discharging non-condensable gases from said heating means.

'2. In combination with a. steam turbine having water sealed glands,feed water heating 'means operating below atmospheric pressure, meansfor delivering steam from,

said glands'to said heating means and means for dischargingnon-condensable gases from said heating means.

3. In combination with a steam turbine having balancing pistons, feedwater heating means operating below atmospheric pressure, means fordelivering steam leaking past said balancing pistons to said heatingmeans and means for discharging noncondensable gases from said heatingmeans.

4. In combination with a steam turbine having balancing pistons andwater sealed glands, two feed water heating means operating in seriesand below atmospheric pressure, means for delivering steam from saidglands and leakage steam from said balancing pistons to. one of saidheating means, means. for delivering leakage steam of higher pressure tothe other of said heating means and means for discharging non-comdensable gases from said heating means.

55 In combination with a turbine having a balancing piston and watersealed glands,

.feed water heating means adapted to operate below atmospheric pressure,a condenser, a connection between said heating means and said condenserand means for delivering steam from said glandsand steam leaking pastsaid balancing piston fto said heating means.

6. In combination with a steam turbine,

feed 'water heating means comprising at least two units operating 1nseries below atmospheric pressure, means for delivering leakage steamfrom the turbine to one unit of the heating means, means for deliveringsteam from the turbine to another unit of the heating means and meansfor discharging non-condensable gases from said heatmg means. i

7. In combination with a steamturbine, two feed water heating meansconnected to operate in series and below atmospheric pressure on leakagesteam delivered from the turbine, means for delivering steam from saidheating means to a working stage of the turbine, and means fordischarging noncondensable gases from said heating means.

8. In combination with a steam turbine, a

condenser; connected to the exhaust thereof,

